Verse [ 105:4] بِحِجَارَةٍ مِّن سِجِّيلٍ (…stones of baked clay.) The word sijjil is a compound Persian word, Arabiciszed, made up of two Persian words: sang [ stone ] and gil [ clay ]. They refer to ordinary or common clay rolled into little balls and then baked to harden. These pebbles are not heavy […]
Verse [ 105:5] فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍ مَّأْكُولٍ (And thus He turned them into an eaten-up chaff.) The word ` asf means ‘chaff, straw, husk or bran’. Usually the ` asf is scattered and when it is eaten or devoured by animals, it does not remain in the same state. This is what happened to Abrahah and […]
Commentary The subject-matter of the Surah This Surah refers to the story of the People of the Elephants who came with an army of elephants for the purpose of destroying the House of Allah in (The Holy Ka’bah) in Makkah. But their plan backfired and the Divine scourge overtook them. Allah destroyed the army with […]
Commentary The subject-matter of the Surah This Surah refers to the story of the People of the Elephants who came with an army of elephants for the purpose of destroying the House of Allah in (The Holy Ka’bah) in Makkah. But their plan backfired and the Divine scourge overtook them. Allah destroyed the army with […]
Verse [ 105:3] طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ (… birds in flocks.) The word ababil is plural and is said to have no singular. It means birds in flocks, or swarms of birds. It is not the name of a particular bird. In Urdu usually ababil refers to ‘swallows’, they are not implied in the verse as indicated […]
(And send against them) and set on them (swarms of flying creatures) in succession,
(Which pelted them with) which threw on them (stones of baked clay) like baked bricks.
(And made them like green crops devoured) by worms?’
And from his narration on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas that he said about the interpretation of Allah’s saying (Hast thou not seen): ‘(Hast thou not seen) i.e. have you not been informed, O Muhammad, in the Qur’an (how thy Lord dealt with) how your Lord punished and destroyed (the owners of the Elephant) the […]
(Did He not bring their stratagem) their scheming (to naught) to utter loss,